I love a big ol’ bowl of hot rice. Rice is filling, cozy, and CHEAP. 🙌 Plus, it’s super easy to add different flavors to rice, so it never gets boring. This easy and flavorful tomato rice uses really simple ingredients that I often have on hand, and it has the most delicious bright yet savory flavor. Plus you can use it as a base for bowl meals, or you can serve it as a side to liven up your dinner plate.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
What’s in Tomato Rice?
This tomato rice is similar to what a lot of people call Spanish rice or Mexican rice, although I can’t say that my technique is authentic to either culture. It’s simply rice that has been cooked with onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, a couple of spices (cumin and chili powder), and a flavorful broth. So simple, yet SO good! I couldn’t stop taking forkfuls right out of the pot. 😅
What Else Can I Add?
There are a lot of ways you can modify this rice to make it your own. You can swap the vegetable broth for chicken broth for a slightly different flavor, or replace the diced tomatoes with salsa or Rotel. You can also experiment with adding some extra spices, like cayenne or smoked paprika, or even squeeze a little lime juice in with the broth before cooking. Want more vegetables? Try stirring in some frozen peas or diced bell pepper.
I like to garnish the tomato rice with some sliced green onions and lime wedges, but they are not required to make the rice taste great.
Can I Use Brown Rice?
Brown rice requires more liquid and a longer simmer time (2-3 times longer) than white rice. So while I’d need to test this with brown rice before offering exact recommendations, it is definitely possible to make this tomato rice with long grain brown rice.
How to Store the Leftovers
If you plan to use your rice for meal prep or if you want to freeze the leftovers, make sure to divide the rice into single portions before refrigerating to make sure it cools down quickly once in the refrigerator. Once completely cooled, it can be transferred to the freezer for longer storage (make sure it’s in an air-tight container).
The tomato rice can be reheated quickly in the microwave. Add a sprinkle of water or an ice cube before reheating to prevent the rice from drying out.
Tomato Rice
Servings 8 1 cup eachIngredients
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.37)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 1.5 cups long grain white rice ($0.56)
- 1/2 tsp chili powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin ($0.02)
- 1 15oz. can petite diced tomatoes ($0.79)
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste ($0.08)
- 2 cups vegetable broth ($0.26)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.03)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and finely dice the onion. Add the onion, garlic, and cooking oil to a saucepot and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
- Add the rice, chili powder, and cumin to the pot. Continue to stir and cook for a couple of minutes more to toast the rice and spices.
- Add the diced tomatoes (with juices), tomato paste, and broth to the pot. Stir to combine and dissolve and spices that are stuck to the bottom.
- Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high, and let the broth come up to a full boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low (or just above low) to bring the broth down to a gentle simmer.
- Let the rice gently simmer for 20 minutes without lifting the lid or stirring. After 20 minutes, remove the pot from the heat, and let the rice rest for five minutes without lifting the lid.
- After resting, fluff the rice with a fork to redistribute the tomatoes throughout. Serve hot!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Tomato Rice – Step by Step Photos
Start by mincing two cloves of garlic and finely dicing one onion.
Add the onion and garlic to a sauce pot with 2 Tbsp cooking oil. Sauté over medium until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add 1.5 cups long grain white rice, ½ tsp chili powder, and ¼ tsp cumin to the pot.
Cook and stir the rice and spices for a couple of minutes more to slightly toast the rice and spices.
Add one 15oz. can of petite diced tomatoes (with juices), 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 2 cups vegetable broth, and ½ tsp salt to the pot. Stir to combine and dissolve any spices stuck to the bottom of the pot. I like to keep frozen tomato paste on hand in one tablespoon portions, just for recipes like this!
Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high, and allow the broth to come up to a full boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low (or lightly above low) to bring the broth down to a gentle simmer.
Let the rice gently simmer for 20 minutes without stirring or lifting the lid. After 20 minutes, remove the pot from the heat (lid still on) and let the rice rest for 5 minutes. This is what it looks like after simmering.
Fluff the rice with a fork to redistribute the diced tomatoes, which float to the top as the rice simmers.
Serve hot! I like to garnish with a little lime and green onion, but it’s not necessary! The rice tastes great on its own, too. :)
Absolutely love this one-pot recipe! I made a half batch to test it out and moving forward will implement 2 tweaks – first, I would double the amount of seasoning and second I increased the quantity of veggie broth because I do like softer rice. Those changes aside, this is a keeper. Thank you, Beth!